Sovereign Host
The Sovereign Host is one of two major groups of deities worshipped in the world of Eberron. Along with the Dark Six, they are part of a group known as the Nine and Six and One. Members : Full list: Category:Eberron deities The Sovereign Host consists of nine deities of varying alignments, but all non-evil: Arawai, goddess of fertility; Aureon, god of knowledge; Balinor, god of the hunt; Boldrei, goddess of community; Dol Arrah, goddess of sunlight; Dol Dorn, god of combat; Kol Korran, god of wealth; Olladra, goddess of luck; and Onatar, god of craft. The Sovereign Host has no leader or chief deity. The Dark Six were once part of this pantheon, but were forced out during the Schism. Worship The Sovereign Host is widely worshipped as a collective pantheon, and many clerics revere the whole pantheon rather than choose a single patron deity.Eberron Campaign Setting (2003), p.35. Each of the nine deities watches over some important part of everyday life, so even followers who favor one will have reason to pray to the others. Followers offer short prayers to one or more of the gods in thanks, and conduct more elaborate rituals to make requests of the gods. Certain holy days are celebrated for each of the deities. Hierarchy The church of the Sovereign Host is a loose confederation of separate temples, with each part of Khorvaire responsible for its own local hierarchy and practices. Lay followers of the Host are known as Vassals. Those who follow a single deity are known as Disciples. A heretical few, known as Hierocrats, believe their god to be superior to the others.Eberron Campaign Guide, p.237-244. Many Vassals occasionally pray to the Dark Six to avert their wrath, but with the understanding that those gods are inferior to the Host. Dogma Vassals have two core beliefs. The Doctrine of Universal Sovereignty states that the gods not only see all in Eberron, but are part of all things; Dol Dorn not only watches every battle, but is part of every battle. The Doctrine of The Divine Host states that the nine gods act as parts of a unified entity. Followers of the Sovereign Host believe that while mortals contain a spark of the divine, the gods neither reward nor punish people in the afterlife. Clerics who violate their church's teachings still receive spells, which may support that theory. The Temple of the Wyrm Ascendant, a minority church of the Sovereign Host, believes that heroes through their actions can one day join the Sovereign Host. Some believe that Kol Korran joined the pantheon after its formation, a possible explanation for why the pantheon's holy symbol, the Celestial Crown, has only eight points. History The church of the Sovereign Host has traditionally gained followers by syncretism—adapting by drawing parallels with new faiths they encounter. Long ago in the Age of Demons, according to the draconic faith of Thir, sixteen dragons, called Sovereigns, ascended to divinity to watch over Eberron. Legends of those Sovereigns eventually inspired humanoid cultures, including goblins who lived after the fall of the empire of Dhakaan. The first human settlers in Khorvaire equated their nine gods with nine of the goblins' deities, and adapted six of the remaining seven into the monstrous Dark Six. Publication history D&D 3rd edition The Sovereign Host are first detailed in the D&D 3.5 Eberron Campaign Setting (2003), the original Eberron sourcebook. D&D 4th edition The Sovereign Host is described in detail in the Eberron Campaign Guide (2009).Eberron Campaign Guide, p.237-244. D&D 5th edition The Eberron deities are listed in the Player's Handbook (2014). Creative origins The Eberron Campaign setting was an original creation of Keith Baker as part of a contest by Wizards of the Coast to create a new original D&D setting. References Category:Churches Category:Pantheons